Escalating tensions with Beijing over national security and trade, the United States blacklists more than 50 Chinese companies to curb AI and tech advancements.
The United States (US) has added over 50 Chinese companies to its export blacklist in a move aimed at restricting Beijing’s advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing. According to a report by CNBC, this is the first such action under the Trump administration.
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) placed 80 organisations on the ‘entity list,’ preventing American companies from supplying these entities without a special licence. These restrictions focus on limiting China’s access to cutting-edge technologies, including exascale computing and quantum technologies.
The targeted companies are accused of acting in ways that undermine US national security and foreign policy. Many of the blacklisted firms are involved in developing advanced AI, supercomputers, and AI chips with military applications.
Furthermore, the BIS also blacklisted entities for supporting China’s military modernisation, including 27 companies linked to acquiring US technology for these purposes.
Some firms were connected to Huawei and its chipmaker subsidiary, HiSilicon. Notably, six subsidiaries of cloud-computing giant Inspur Group were also added to the list. The Biden administration previously sanctioned these firms.
China condemned the move, accusing the US of unfairly using national security concerns to justify the restrictions. Experts have warned that the growing list of companies targeted may also impact third-party countries and intermediaries helping Chinese firms bypass these restrictions.
The latest action comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, including trade tariffs. US officials have vowed to intensify efforts to track and prevent the smuggling of advanced semiconductors, particularly those made by NVIDIA and AMD, into China. This marks a further escalation in the ongoing tech and trade rivalry between the two nations.
